Georges Périnal

London at the turn of the century. Three men is on a mission from the IRA to steal all the gold in the vaults of the Bank of England. Norgate, their leader, discovers the bank's weak spot: an old forgotten sewer straight under the vaults.

England, 1891. Ascending writer Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) meets Lord Alfred Douglas, a young nobleman. Over the years, they will maintain an intimate relationship that will be openly criticized by Alfred's father, the Marquis of Queensberry, in such a harsh way that Wilde, instigated by Alfred, decides to sue Queensberry in 1895, accusing him of defamation.

The wife of brilliant, but boisterous and ill-tempered conductor of the London Symphony puts up with his childishness, but the last straw is drawn when he begins an affair with a young pianist.

A boy, no bigger than a thumb, manages to outwit two thieves determined to make a fortune from him.

Cecile is a decadent young girl who lives with her rich playboy father, Raymond. When Anne, Raymond's old love interest, comes to Raymond's villa, Cecile is afraid for her way of life.

A recently-deposed "Estrovian" monarch seeks shelter in New York City, where he becomes an accidental television celebrity. Later, he's wrongly accused of being a Communist and gets caught up in subsequent HUAC hearings.

Young Joan of Arc comes to the palace in France to make The Dauphin King of France and is appointed to head the French Army. After winning many battles she is not needed any longer and soon she is thought of as a witch.

Bertrand, an accountant employed by a large London firm, is called to the office of the Managing Director, Dreuther, to explain a mistake in the accounts. Dreuther is highly impressed by the young accountant's skilful explanation of the error and, hearing that Bertrand is soon to marry his spirited young fiancée, tells him to spend the honeymoon not in Bournemouth, but Monte Carlo at the company s expense! However, events in the fabulous Mediterranean paradise do not work out quite as Bertrand had envisaged...

A bomb dooms the first space satellite, manned by a selfless crew, a stowaway reporter (Lois Maxwell) and a mad scientist (Donald Wolfit).

Dr. Henry Mills a very renowned cardiac specialist, disagrees with his wife, because of their religious beliefs, and more particularly because it encourages his son Ernesto to follow the priesthood. Mills is unfaithful to his wife, Isabel. She knows her husband's betrayal, and he secretly decides to separate, without sharing the marital bed, but keeping a secret from society.

Three stories of murder and the supernatural: A museum worker is introduced to a world behind the pictures he sees every day. When two lifelong friends fall in love with the same woman and she is killed, they are obvious suspects. Is their friendship strong enough for them to alibi each other? When a young politician is hurt by the arrogant Secretary for Foreign Affairs Lord Mountdrago, he uses Mountdrago's dreams to get revenge.

Framed in flashback, The Man Who Loved Redheads is an anecdotal comedy about a man (John Justin) whose life is defined by his first romantic experience. That liaison occurred in Justin's youth, when the young man matures and enters the diplomatic world, he spends the rest of his career searching for his first love.

Atomic scientist Peter Standish travels back in time to 1784, an era he has read about in his forefather's diaries. He falls in love with his forefather's cousin Helen but his contemporaries of 1784 are perplexed by his strange talk and the odd knowledge he possess.

James Stewart plays aeronautical engineer Theodore Honey, the quintessential absent-minded professor: eccentric, forgetful, but brilliant. His studies show that the aircraft being manufactured by his employer has a subtle but deadly design flaw that manifests itself only after the aircraft has flown a certain number of hours. En route to a crash site to prove his theory, Honey discovers that he is aboard a plane rapidly approaching his predicted deadline.

A financier plots to become the richest man in the world by marrying off his daughter to the son of an Arab sheik.

In Victorian London, young Adelaide is born into luxury, but marries starving artist Henry. His alcoholism and their lack of money lead to many quarrels. During one such fight, Henry slips down a flight of stairs and dies. A neighbor, Mrs. Mounsey, is the only witness, and she blackmails the young widow by threatening to tell the cops that Adelaide killed her husband. Luckily, lawyer Gilbert swoops in to help Adelaide.

Phillipe, the son of an ambassador in London, idolizes Baines, his father's butler, a kind of hero in the eyes of the child, whose perception changes when he accidentally discovers the secret that Baines keeps and witnesses the consequences that adults' lies can cause.

A prominent politician is preparing to expose a financial scandal. But then a woman who has invested heavily in the shady venture threatens to uncover a damaging secret in the politician's past if he exposes the speculation as a fraud. His problem is compounded by his wife's intolerance of the slightest character flaws.

Handsome Italian laborer Kieron Moore works as caretaker of the Neopolitan villa inherited by plain-Jane Englishwomen Margaret Johnston and Dulcie Gray. Johnston is swept off her feet by the raffishly charming Moore, and before long they are wed.

After World War II service changes them, a married couple dread their postwar reunion.

General Candy, who's overseeing an English squad in 1943, is a veteran leader who doesn't have the respect of the men he's training and is considered out-of-touch with what's needed to win the war. But it wasn't always this way. Flashing back to his early career in the Boer War and World War I, we see a dashing young officer whose life has been shaped by three different women, and by a lasting friendship with a German soldier.

This 1942 fictionalized biopic chronicles the true story of how two of the most remarkable men in aviation history - visionary Spitfire designer R.J. Mitchell and his test pilot Geoffrey Crisp - designed a streamlined monoplane that led to the development of the Spitfire.

A British factory is inefficient because of pre-war rules and red tape. A Soviet trades union representative shows workers and management the value of unity.

Stefan Radetzky, a Polish pilot and famous concert pianist, is hospitalised in England from injuries sustained while in combat, and having lost his memory. As Radetzky plays the piano in a trance-like state, the story moves back in time to war-torn Warsaw. During an air-raid, Radetzky meets American journalist Carole, and there is a mutual attraction. Following the fall of Poland, Radetzky and Irish pilot, Mike, escape to Rumania and then on to America. Radetzky continues his musical career in America and meets up again with Carole.

Old Bill has grumbled his way through the trenches of the First World War. Now it is the Second and, envious of his son, Young Bill, he decides to enlist. He finally enters the Pioneer Corps, which is based near his son. When Young Bill goes missing during a raid, Old Bill shows that there's still life in the old dog yet!

When Prince Ahmad is blinded and cast out of Bagdad by the nefarious Jaffar, he joins forces with the scrappy thief Abu to win back his royal place, as well as the heart of a beautiful princess.

A disgraced officer risks his life to help his childhood friends in battle.

Suzanne, Renee, Nina and Marta all hate being in prison, being slapped and treated badly, and so all the girls are trying to escape. Madame Appel just causes chaos all the time, with her harsh manners. When Yvonne with her free-thinking ways is put in charge of the school for misbehaving girls, and asks them to tell her their complaints, they don't believe her at first. Yvonne is in love and about to marry the establishment's doctor, and it does not help that one teenage girl falls for him - and is corresponded. It's a hard life for the girls, and for the new female warden.

Dramatization of the first climbing of the Matterhorn in 1865.

London's jewel thieves are under the thumb of a mysterious fence, who ruthlessly exposes any thief who crosses him. Desperate, Scotland Yard re-hires ex-Inspector Barrabal who, as a known drunkard, is ideally suited to go undercover with a faked criminal record (which may spoil his chances with lovely Carol Stedman).

Madeline Goddard, is a British double agent who meets and falls in love with a German spy Baron Karl Von Marwitz during World War I. This tale of espionage blends high adventure and romance making perfect order from wartime chaos and growing in faith from despair.

In 1620s France, dreaded swordsman Gil de Berault returns from carrying out a mission for Cardinal Richelieu, and finds the Cardinal worried about growing opposition from the Huguenots in the south. The Cardinal also warns de Berault that dueling has been outlawed, and will henceforth be punishable by death. Gil, however, promptly disobeys the law and is indeed sentenced to death. The Cardinal offers to cancel the sentence if de Berault is able to capture the duke who is organizing plans for an uprising. Gil travels to the duke's castle and is allowed to stay as a guest, but the duke's wife and sister immediately suspect that he is a spy. He and his servant still make good progress, until he falls in love with the duke's sister, which complicates everything.

This character study joins the painter at the height of his fame in 1642, when his adored wife suddenly dies and his work takes a dark, sardonic turn that offends his patrons. By 1656, he is bankrupt but consoles himself with the company of pretty maid Hendrickje, whom he's unable to marry. Their relationship brings ostracism but also some measure of happiness. The final scenes find him in his last year, 1669, physically enfeebled but his spirit undimmed.

The story of a century: a decades-long second World War leaves plague and anarchy, then a rational state rebuilds civilization and attempts space travel.

A British District Officer in Nigeria in the 1930s rules his area strictly but justly. He struggles with gun-runners and slavers with the aid of a loyal native chief.

The woman who will become Catherine the Great marries into the Russian royal family when she weds Grand Duke Peter, the nephew of Empress Elizabeth. Although the couple has moments of contentment, Peter's cruel and erratic behavior causes a rift between him and Catherine. Mere months after Peter succeeds his aunt as the ruler of Russia, a revolt is brewing, and Catherine is poised to ascend to the throne as the country's new empress.

Renowned for his excess, King Henry VIII goes through a series of wives during his rule. With Anne Boleyn, his second wife, executed on charges of treason, King Henry weds maid Jane Seymour, but that marriage also ends in tragedy. Not one to be single for long, the king picks German-born Anne of Cleves as his bride, but their union lasts only months before an annulment is granted, and King Henry continues his string of spouses.

A Doctor tries to pass off a singer as his wife in Paris in 1904.

Dr. Lucien Petypon is usually a serious man, but, drawn by his friend Corignon, he once paints the town red at Maxim's. When he wakes up late the next morning, he finds the scantily clad Môme Crevette, a dancer at the famous Paris restaurant, by his side. It is the moment General Petypon du Grêlé, Lucien's rich uncle, chooses to make an unexpected visit. The good doctor has no other choice but to pass Crevette off as his lawful wife.

A light, comedy romance about a cab driver named Jean and a flower girl named Anna that takes place in Paris during the Bastille day celebration of July 14th.

Shades of Othello loom in this engrossing exploration of class, race, and murder set on an ocean liner. Young Dainah encounters an engineer onboard who mistakes pleasantries for flirtation. When she disappears the next day, suspicion spreads not only to the engineer but also to Dainah's husband.

A bureaucratic civil servant is annoyed by the spoiled daughter of a rich chocolate maker, but lands up marrying her.

Told in four episodes, an unnamed artist is transported through a mirror into another dimension, where he travels through various bizarre scenarios. This film is the first part of Cocteau's Orphic Trilogy, which consists of The Blood of a Poet (1930), Orpheus (1950) and Testament of Orpheus (1960).

In this classic French satire, Louis, a convict, escapes from prison and takes on legitimate work, making his way up in the business world. Eventually becoming the head of a successful factory, Louis opts to modernize his company with mechanical innovations. But when his friend Émile finally leaves jail years later and reunites with Louis, the past catches up with them. The two, worried about being apprehended by police, long to flee the confines of industry.

The story takes place on the Riviera, where the title character may or may not be involved in various shades of skullduggery, including murder.

Debt-ridden painter Michel is overcome with joy at discovering that he has just won 1 million florins in the Dutch lottery, but almost immediately, he discovers that his softhearted girlfriend, Béatrice, has given away his jacket containing the winning ticket to an elderly petty thief. Soon Michel, Beatrice and Michel's artistic rival, Prosper, are hurtling through the streets of Paris on the trail of the missing jacket.

David is a poor but ambitious Polish Jew who reinvents himself as a powerful New York business magnate. After gaining wealth, he relocates to Paris, only to have his selfish and demanding wife squander his fortune.

In the tenement slums of Paris between the world wars, impoverished street singer Albert yearns for beautiful Romanian immigrant Pola. Pola's boyfriend, local hoodlum Fred, grows jealous of Albert's constant attention to his woman and frames the hapless musician for one of his own petty crimes. But while Albert is in prison for Fred's misdeed, Pola ends up falling for Albert's faithful best friend, Louis.

The plot focuses on Gaillac (Albert Prejean), an electrician employed by the Paris Opera. In love with gorgeous ballerina Suzanne (Gaby Morlay), Gaillac must play second fiddle to Suzanne's wealthy "protector," powerful politician Count Montoire (Henry Roussell). When the Opera personnel go on strike, Gaillac is appointed leader of the strikers, doing his job so well that he is ultimately elected Secretary of Labor in the French cabinet. Now on equal footing with Montoire, Gaillac is at last a "worthy" suitor for Suzanne -- who can't make up her mind between her two well-connected admirers, leading to a political rivalry the likes of which Paris has never seen. This harmless political satire ended up being banned by the French government for undermining "the dignity of Parliament and its ministers". (moviefone.com)

A poetic documentary tribute to the famous Eiffel tower, built for the 1889 World Fair and intended to have been destroyed 20 years later. A vocal subset of Parisians (among which, one may surmise, Clair would've been counted) insisted the Tower remain above the River Seine, a continued display of French engineering excellence. Clair makes strategic use of double exposures and dissolves, capturing the mechanical exuberance of the Tower; The great swooping steel latticework edifice a bounding symbol of the modern age.

A renowned doctor and his brother live and work together until the brother falls in love with Marie, a singer, and gives up medicine to be with her. After a time however, she misses her old life and goes back on the stage - an act which leads her lover to commit suicide. Later the doctor and Marie also meet, and she becomes his mistress. He finds out about his brother's suicide and goes through his artifacts looking for a clue as to what might have been the cause. He finds a photograph of Marie and realizes the truth, which decimates their relationship.

This early documentary by director Jean Grémillon highlights the textures and architectural details of the great Gothic cathedral at Chartres.

The story of the fighter plane and pilots that helped win the Battle of Britain in World War II